Wireless Audio Synchronization

ABSTRACT

A method of synchronizing playback of audio data sent over a first wireless network from an audio source to a wireless speaker package that is adapted to play the audio data. The method includes comparing a first time period over which audio data was sent over the first wireless network to a second time period over which the audio data was received by the wireless speaker package, and playing the received audio data on the wireless speaker package over a third time period that is related to the comparison of the first and second time periods.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 16/025,136,filed on Jul. 2, 2018, which is a continuation of application Ser. No15/880,869, filed on Jan. 26, 2018, which is a continuation ofapplication Ser. No. 14/848,212, filed on Sep. 8, 2015, now U.S. Pat.No. 9,911,433, issued on Mar. 6, 2018. Priority of the priorapplications and the prior issued patent are claimed.

BACKGROUND

This disclosure relates to synchronizing audio data sent wirelessly froma source to a sink.

The Bluetooth standard does not provide a means to synchronize orrate-match the clocks in an audio source and an audio sink. Bluetoothsources vary dramatically in their data rate, packet size, and durationof audio per packet. The radio frequency (RF) environment can alsocontribute to variation in audio data packet arrival times at the sink.Most Bluetooth-enabled audio sinks (such as wireless speaker packages)have a fixed latency (i.e., buffer depth) to account for theseinconsistencies. However, if the latency is greater than about 100milliseconds the audio part of an audio/video playback noticeably lagsthe video. The out of sync lip movement that results is objectionable tomost users.

SUMMARY

The latency of playback of audio data by a wireless speaker package oranother Bluetooth audio sink can be minimized by allowing the latency tovary based on the difference between the time it takes to send audiopackets and the time over which these audio packets are received by thesink. This way, when jitter is low there is low latency and when jitterincreases the latency increases. For networked systems with multipleaudio sinks, one sink can function as the master and the rest canfunction as slaves. The master can time stamp the audio packets beforethey are sent to the slaves such that all of the devices play backsynchronously.

All examples and features mentioned below can be combined in anytechnically possible way.

In one aspect, a method of synchronizing playback of audio data sentover a first wireless network from an audio source to a wireless speakerpackage that is adapted to play the audio data includes comparing afirst time period over which audio data was sent over the first wirelessnetwork to a second time period over which the audio data was receivedby the wireless speaker package, and playing the received audio data onthe wireless speaker package over a third time period that is related tothe comparison of the first and second time periods.

Embodiments may include one of the following features, or anycombination thereof The first wireless network may comprise a networkthat does not provide a means to synchronize or rate match the clocks inthe audio source and the wireless speaker package. The first wirelessnetwork may be a Bluetooth network. The comparison may comprise afunction of the second time period and the first time period. The audiodata may be sent over the first wireless network as discrete audio datapackets that are each sent over a discrete data packet time period,wherein the first time period comprises the discrete data packet timeperiod. The third time period may be based on the discrete data packettime period and the function of the second time period and the firsttime period. The received audio data packets may be played on thewireless speaker package over the third time period. The method mayfurther comprise modifying a buffer depth on the wireless speakerpackage when the difference between the third time period and the secondtime period changes (e.g., when it exceeds a threshold value).

Embodiments may include one of the following features, or anycombination thereof. The method may further comprise sending thereceived audio data over a second wireless network from the wirelessspeaker package to one or more additional wireless speaker packages forsynchronized playback of the received audio data over the third timeperiod on the wireless speaker package and the additional wirelessspeaker packages. The audio data may be sent over the first wirelessnetwork as discrete audio data packets, and the method may furthercomprise time stamping audio data packets with a sent time stamp whenthey are sent over the first wireless network and also time stampingreceived audio data packets with a receive time stamp when they arereceived by the wireless speaker package, where the receive time stamprepresents a local time on the wireless speaker package when theassociated one of the individual data packets was received by thewireless speaker package. The first time period may be based on the senttime stamp of audio data packets and the second time period may be basedon the receive time stamp of the same audio data packets.

Embodiments may include one of the following features, or anycombination thereof. The audio data may be sent over the first wirelessnetwork as discrete audio data packets, and the method may furthercomprise adding to the packets a time offset that is based on thecomparison of the first and second time periods. The method may furthercomprise sending the received audio data packets along with the receivestamps for the packets over a second wireless network from the wirelessspeaker package to one or more additional wireless speaker packages, tofacilitate synchronized playback of the audio data packets on thewireless speaker package and the additional wireless speaker packages.

Embodiments may include one of the following features, or anycombination thereof. The audio data may be sent over the first wirelessnetwork as discrete audio data packets, and the method may furthercomprise playing each of the received audio data packets on the wirelessspeaker package over the third time period. The third time period may bevariable, and the method may further comprise scaling the third timeperiod based on a time between receipt of packets by the wirelessspeaker package.

Embodiments may include one of the following features, or anycombination thereof. The method may further comprise applying asmoothing function to received audio data before it is played, to reduceaudio artifacts due to differences between the first and third timeperiods. The method may further comprise storing in a memory of thewireless speaker package, information from which the third time periodcan be derived. After the audio source and the wireless speaker packagehave been disconnected and then reconnected over the first wirelessnetwork, this information may be retrieved from memory, and theretrieved information and the current values of the first and secondtime periods can then be used to generate the third time period overwhich received audio data is played on the wireless speaker package. Themethod may further comprise modifying the third time period after it hasbeen retrieved, based on the first and second time periods.

In another aspect, a wireless speaker package includes anelectro-acoustic transducer, a processor, and memory comprisinginstructions which when executed by the processor cause the wirelessspeaker package to compare a first time period over which audio data wassent to the wireless speaker package over a first wireless network to asecond time period over which the audio data was received by thewireless speaker package and play the received audio data on thewireless speaker package over a third time period that is related to thecomparison of the first and second time period.

Embodiments may include one of the following features, or anycombination thereof. The first wireless network may comprise a networkthat does not provide a means to synchronize or rate match the clocks inthe audio source and the wireless speaker package. The first wirelessnetwork may be a Bluetooth network. The comparison may comprise afunction of the second time period and the first time period. The audiodata may be sent over the first wireless network as discrete audio datapackets that are each sent over a discrete data packet time period,wherein the first time period comprises the discrete data packet timeperiod. The third time period may be based on the discrete data packettime period and the function of the second time period and the firsttime period. The received audio data packets may be played on thewireless speaker package over the third time period. The method mayfurther comprise modifying a buffer depth on the wireless speakerpackage when the difference between the third time period and the secondtime period changes (e.g., when it exceeds a threshold value).

Embodiments may include one of the following features, or anycombination thereof. The method may further comprise sending thereceived audio data over a second wireless network from the wirelessspeaker package to one or more additional wireless speaker packages forsynchronized playback of the received audio data over the third timeperiod on the wireless speaker package and the additional wirelessspeaker packages. The audio data may be sent over the first wirelessnetwork as discrete audio data packets, and the method may furthercomprise time stamping audio data packets with a sent time stamp whenthey are sent over the first wireless network and also time stampingreceived audio data packets with a receive time stamp when they arereceived by the wireless speaker package, where the receive time stamprepresents a local time on the wireless speaker package when theassociated one of the individual data packets was received by thewireless speaker package. The first time period may be based on the senttime stamp of audio data packets and the second time period may be basedon the receive time stamp of the same audio data packets.

Embodiments may include one of the following features, or anycombination thereof. The audio data may be sent over the first wirelessnetwork as discrete audio data packets, and the method may furthercomprise adding to the packets a time offset that is based on thecomparison of the first and second time periods. The method may furthercomprise sending the received audio data packets along with the receivestamps for the packets over a second wireless network from the wirelessspeaker package to one or more additional wireless speaker packages, tofacilitate synchronized playback of the audio data packets on thewireless speaker package and the additional wireless speaker packages.

Embodiments may include one of the following features, or anycombination thereof. The audio data may be sent over the first wirelessnetwork as discrete audio data packets, and the method may furthercomprise playing each of the received audio data packets on the wirelessspeaker package over the third time period. The third time period may bevariable, and the method may further comprise scaling the third timeperiod based on a time between receipt of packets by the wirelessspeaker package.

Embodiments may include one of the following features, or anycombination thereof. The method may further comprise applying asmoothing function to received audio data before it is played, to reduceaudio artifacts due to differences between the first and third timeperiods. The method may further comprise storing in a memory of thewireless speaker package, information from which the third time periodcan be derived. After the audio source and the wireless speaker packagehave been disconnected and then reconnected over the first wirelessnetwork, this information may be retrieved from memory, and theretrieved information and the current values of the first and secondtime periods can then be used to generate the third time period overwhich received audio data is played on the wireless speaker package. Themethod may further comprise modifying the third time period after it hasbeen retrieved, based on the first and second time periods.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an audio distribution system thatcan be used in the present method, and includes an audio source and awireless speaker package according to this disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary wireless speaker package.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of a wireless interconnection of anaudio source and several wireless speaker packages using a wirelessaccess point.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The latency of playback of audio data by a wireless speaker package oranother type of Bluetooth audio sink can be minimized by allowing thelatency to vary based on the jitter, or the difference between the timeit takes for the source to send audio packets and the time over whichthese audio packets are received by the sink. This way, when jitter islow there is low latency and when jitter increases the latencyincreases. For networked systems with multiple audio sinks, one sink cancommunicate with the source and function as a master device. The rest ofthe devices can function as slaves. The master can time stamp the audiopackets before they are sent to the slaves, taking the latency intoaccount, such that all of the devices play the audio back synchronously.

Audio distribution system 10, FIG. 1, can be used to accomplish wirelessaudio synchronization, and also includes non-limiting examples ofwireless speaker packages and other wireless audio sources and sinksthat can be involved in this wireless audio synchronization. System 10is adapted to deliver digital audio (e.g., digital music). System 10includes a number of audio playback devices 22, 24 and 26 which areamong the group of audio output devices 20 of the system. In onenon-limiting embodiment, the audio playback devices are identicalwireless speaker packages that each include a digital to analogconverter that is able to receive digital audio signals and convert themto analog form. The wireless speaker packages also include anelectro-acoustic transducer that receives the analog audio signals andtransduces them into sound. The wireless speaker packages also include aprocessor. The wireless speaker packages can be connected to one anotherand also connected to the router/access point 32 via network 30. Thewireless speaker packages are thus able to communicate with one another.Network 30 can be a wired and/or wireless network, and can use knownnetwork connectivity methodologies. Network 30 is part of local areanetwork (LAN) 12 which is connected to wide area network (WAN) 14, inthis non-limiting example by connection to Internet 56. LAN 12 alsoincludes one or more separate computing devices 40 and/or one or moreseparate local digital audio sources 46. In this non-limiting examplethe computing devices include a personal computer 42 and a mobilecomputing device 44 such as a smartphone, tablet or the like. One ormore of computing devices 40 may be connected to one or more of audiooutput devices 20 by a personal area network (PAN) 33 (e.g., a wirelessPAN). PAN 33 preferably comprises a direct point-to-point Bluetoothconnection between mobile device 44 and one of audio playback devices22, 24 or 26. WAN 14 includes server 50 and Internet radio service 52which can both communicate with LAN 12 via Internet 56.

One use of system 10 is to play an audio stream over one or more of theaudio playback devices in group 20. The sources of digital audio provideaccess to content such as audio streams that move over network 30 and/ornetwork 33 to the audio playback devices. The sources of such audiostreams can include, for example, Internet radio stations and userdefined playlists. Each of such digital audio sources maintains arepository of audio content which can be chosen by the user to be playedover one or more of the audio playback devices. Such digital audiosources can include Internet-based music services such as Pandora®,Spotify® and vTuner®, for example. Network attached storage devices suchas digital audio source 46, and media server applications such as may befound on a mobile computing device, can also be sources of audio data.Typically, the user selects the audio source and the playback devicesvia PC 42 and/or mobile device 44.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary wireless speaker package as an exampleof this disclosure. Wireless speaker package 700 includes an enclosure710. On the enclosure 710 there resides a graphical interface 712 (e.g.,an OLED display) which can provide the user with information regardingcurrently playing (“Now Playing”) music. There are one or moreelectro-acoustic transducers 715. Wireless speaker package device 700also includes a user input interface 716. The user input interface 716can include a plurality of preset indicators, which can be hardwarebuttons. The preset indicators can provide the user with easy, one pressaccess to entities assigned to those buttons. The assigned entities canbe associated with different ones of the digital audio sources such thata single wireless speaker package 700 can provide for single pressaccess to various different digital audio sources.

Wireless speaker package 700 also includes a network interface 720, aprocessor 722, audio hardware 724, power supplies 726 for powering thevarious components, and memory 728. Each of the processor 722, thegraphical interface 712, the network interface 720, the audio hardware724, the power supplies 726, and the memory 728 are interconnected usingvarious buses, and several of the components may be mounted on a commonmotherboard or in other manners as appropriate.

The network interface 720 provides for communication between thewireless speaker package 700 and audio sources and other networkedwireless speaker packages and other audio playback devices via one ormore communications protocols. The network interface 720 may provideeither or both of a wireless interface 730 and a wired interface 732.The wireless interface 730 allows the wireless speaker package 700 tocommunicate wirelessly with other devices in accordance with acommunication protocol such as IEEE 802.11 b/g. The wired interface 732provides network interface functions via a wired (e.g., Ethernet)connection.

In some cases, the network interface 720 may also include a networkmedia processor 734 for supporting Apple AirPlay® (a proprietaryprotocol stack/suite developed by Apple Inc., with headquarters inCupertino, Calif., that allows wireless streaming of audio, video, andphotos, together with related metadata between devices). For example, ifa user connects an AirPlay® enabled device, such as an iPhone or iPaddevice, to the network, the user can then stream music to the networkconnected audio playback devices via Apple AirPlay®. Notably, the audioplayback device can support audio-streaming via AirPlay® and/or DLNAsUPnP protocols, and all integrated within one device.

All other digital audio coming from network packets comes straight fromthe network media processor 734 through a USB bridge 736 to theprocessor 722 and runs into the decoders, DSP, and eventually is playedback (rendered) via the electro-acoustic transducer(s) 715.

The network interface 720 can also include a Bluetooth circuitry 738 forBluetooth applications (e.g., for wireless communication with aBluetooth enabled audio source such as a smartphone or tablet).

Streamed data passes from the network interface 720 to the processor722. The processor 722 can execute instructions within the wirelessspeaker package (e.g., for performing, among other things, digitalsignal processing, decoding, and equalization functions), includinginstructions stored in the memory 728. The processor 722 may beimplemented as a chipset of chips that include separate and multipleanalog and digital processors. The processor 722 may provide, forexample, for coordination of other components of the audio playbackdevice 700, such as control of user interfaces, applications run by theaudio playback device 700. A suitable processor is the DA921 availablefrom Texas Instruments.

The processor 722 provides a processed digital audio signal to the audiohardware 724 which includes one or more digital-to-analog (D/A)converters for converting the digital audio signal to an analog audiosignal. The audio hardware 724 also includes one or more amplifierswhich provide amplified analog audio signals to the electroacoustictransducer(s) 715 for playback. In addition, the audio hardware 724 mayinclude circuitry for processing analog input signals to provide digitalaudio signals for sharing with other devices.

The memory 728 may include, for example, flash memory and/ornon-volatile random access memory (NVRAM). In some implementations,instructions (e.g., software) are stored in an information carrier. Theinstructions, when executed by one or more processing devices (e.g., theprocessor 722), perform one or more processes, such as those describedelsewhere herein. The instructions can also be stored by one or morestorage devices, such as one or more computer- or machine-readablemediums (for example, the memory 728, or memory on the processor). Theinstructions may include instructions for performing decoding (i.e., thesoftware modules include the audio codecs for decoding the digital audiostreams), as well as digital signal processing and equalization.Additional details may be found in U.S. Patent Application Publication2014/0277644, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference.

Audio system 100, FIG. 3, can be used for the wireless audiosynchronization herein. System 100 includes audio source 102 thatcommunicates with wireless speaker package 104 over wireless network103. Network 103 may be a Bluetooth network, or it may use any otherwireless communication network protocol now known or hereafter developedthat does not provide a means to synchronize an audio source and anaudio sink. Although the wireless audio synchronization herein does notrequire more than one wireless speaker package as part of system 100,system 100 can include additional wireless speaker packages 108 and 110.Normally but not necessarily, in the case where there are multiplewireless speaker packages that are part of system 100, one wirelessspeaker package (wireless speaker package 104 in this case) functions asthe master device and the other wireless speaker packages (108 and 110in this case) function as the slave wireless speaker packages. Masterdevice 104 receives audio data from source 102 and distributes it toslaves 108 and 110. In this non-limiting example such audio distributioncan be by WiFi via wireless access point/router 106, but distributioncould be by any other wireless or wired network protocol. Each ofwireless speaker packages 104, 108 and 110 will play the audio. Theaudio replay among the wireless speaker packages can be (but need notbe) synchronized such that they all play the same audio at the sametime; this is further described below.

The Bluetooth standard does not provide a means to synchronize orrate-match the clocks in audio source 102 and audio sink (e.g., wirelessspeaker package) 104. Bluetooth sources vary dramatically in their datarate, packet size, and duration of audio per packet. The RF environmentcan also contribute to variation in audio data packet arrival times atthe wireless speaker package 104. The latency of playback of audio databy wireless speaker package 104 (or another type of Bluetooth audiosink) can be minimized by allowing the latency to vary based on thedifference between the time it takes for source 102 to send audiopackets and the time over which these audio packets are received bywireless speaker package 104. The variation of the latency can be basedon the difference in the time it takes to send audio data packetscompared to the time it takes to receive these packets. This way, whenjitter is low there is low latency and when jitter increases the latencyincreases. For networked systems with multiple audio sinks, wirelessspeaker package 104 time stamps the audio packets, before they are sentto slaves 108 and 110. This way, all of the wireless speaker packagescan play back the audio synchronously.

Wireless speaker package 104 time stamps with the time of receipt, eachaudio data packet it receives from source 102, where the receive timestamp represents a local time on the wireless speaker package when theassociated one of the individual data packets was received by thewireless speaker package. This is done whether or not source 102 timestamps the audio data packets with the time they are sent over network103. As part of the current Bluetooth protocol, audio data packets aretime stamped by audio source 102. Such time stamping allows theprocessor of wireless speaker package 104 to compare the time periodover which audio data (e.g., one or more packets of audio data) was sentby source 102 to the time period over which this same audio data wasreceived by wireless speaker package 104. The comparison that isaccomplished by wireless speaker package 104 may be a function of thesetwo time periods. The function may be the ratio of the two time periods,or it could be another function such as but not limited to a linearmodel or an adaptive learning algorithm. In the absence of time stampsfrom source 102, the system can utilize the decoded samples to estimatethe time when data was sent by source 102. The comparison of receivetime to send time is in essence a measure of the time between thereceipt of two packets. Other measures could be used, such as the timeto send and receive multiple contiguous packets.

Wireless speaker package 104 uses the results of this comparison (e.g.,the above-described ratio) to establish the time period over which audiopackets are played by wireless speaker package 104. In one example, theplayback time period is based on the ratio of the time period over whichaudio data was received by wireless speaker package 104 (which is ameasure of jitter) to the time period over which this same audio datawas sent by source 102, applied to the length of the audio data packets.For example, if a packet length is 20 milliseconds (mS) and threepackets are received over 61.2 mS, the above ratio is 61.2/(3×20) or1.02 (i.e., a 2% delay/jitter). The playback time period in this examplecan then be established as 20 mS×1.02, or 20.4 mS. A sync sub-system ofthe wireless speaker package feeds packets to a rate matching algorithm(e.g., an asynchronous sample rate converter (ASRC)) over theestablished playback time period such that each packet is replayed bythe wireless speaker package over the established playback time period.

The comparison thus establishes a latency, which also dictates the depthof the ring buffer used to buffer the data. The latency is set by thiscomparison. Since the comparison (e.g., the ratio) is accomplishedcontinuously as data packets are received, the latency can change asneeded, e.g., to account for changes in jitter. For example, if anydelay in receipt of data packages is tending to increase, the ratio willincrease, which causes the data packet playback time to increaseaccordingly. On the other hand, if any delay in receipt of data packagesis tending to decrease, the ratio will decrease, which causes the datapacket playback time to decrease accordingly. The comparison thusdynamically modifies the latency to account for the current conditionsof the source, the RF environment, and the sink, while minimizing thelatency to the extent feasible. In cases in which the amount of audiodata does not inherently fill the amount of time designated for playbackof that data, or there is more data than can be played in the playbacktime, a smoothing function is used to reduce audio artifacts. Forexample, extra data can be interpolated (reduced), or some data can beextrapolated (stretched) so that the available data fills the timeperiod over which audio packets are played. On occasions when thevariations between the second time stamps exceed the buffered audioduration, the target latency (buffer depth) can be adjusted to helpensure that sufficient audio data is present (avoid underflow).Similarly, when variations between the second time stamps aresufficiently low, the buffer depth can be decreased to enhance the audiofor video synchronization.

When there are additional slave wireless speaker packages connected tothe master that receives the audio data from the audio source, themaster's audio decoding subsystem re-encapsulates each audio packet andtime stamps them. When these data packets are sent by the master to theslaves, they are played based on the time stamps. This feature allowsall of the wireless speaker packages to playback the audio in asynchronized manner if this is desired by the user.

The slave devices may be synched to the master using a clocksynchronization algorithm that keeps the current clock time on all ofthe slave devices synchronized with that of the master device. The clocksynchronization algorithm is separate and aside from the audio stream.The clock synchronization algorithm clock data is provided every 1 to 6seconds to keep the slave devices updated and in sync with the master.Separately, the master device provides a “play at” time to the slavedevices. This “play at” time represents the time that the devices are tostart playing a first sample in an audio stream. The “play at” time iscommunicated in control data that is separate from the audio stream andis only sent once for each track (i.e., it is not included with everyframe). Every new track or stream will get a new “play at” time.

The slave devices receive the first sample in a stream and beginplayback at the designated “play at” time. Since all devices have thesame current clock time, due to the clock synchronization algorithm,they all begin playback at the same time. From there, the devices allprovide playback at a constant sample rate, and, consequently, stay insync.

The oscillators on the individual devices may spin at different rates,which could lead to time drift among the devices. Synchronizationadjustments to the clock time may cause the duration of audio that thecorresponding slave device needs to play to stay in sync to either growor shrink. An ASRC on board each audio device accounts for these timeadjustments and manipulates the received audio data to ensure a constantsample output rate.

The master device adds a time stamp to the header of each frame in theaudio stream that represents a time offset from the “play at” time—i.e.,the time difference between the time when playback of the correspondingframe should start and the “play at” time. Unlike the “play at” time andthe clock data, this time stamp is provided in the audio stream. Thistime stamp is used by the slave devices for determining when thecorresponding frame is fed into the ASRC. This time stamp is based on acomparison of the first and second time stamps to those ofpreviously-received frames. The third time stamp that is added to theheader of each frame roughly corresponds to a time (some point in thefuture which takes into consideration the latency) when the associatedframe is to be fed into the ASRC. This third time stamp is actually atime offset. i.e., it is some delta from an initial start time (i.e.,“play at” time) of the playback of the audio.

The latency can be in part a function of the particular audio source.For example, different audio source devices may have different datarates, packet sizes, duration of audio per packet, and inter-packet sendtimes. Also, the RF frequency used and the device's WiFi/Bluetoothcoexistence strategy can cause variation in latency. In order tofacilitate establishing a minimum effective latency when a source devicehas previously been paired with the wireless speaker package, thewireless speaker package memory can store the latest latency status forpreviously paired source devices. The latest latency status that isstored can be values that can be used by the processor to compute thethird time period using the function described above and the currentvalues of the first and the second time periods, when the device isreconnected. When such a source device has been disconnected from thenetwork and is then later re-connected, the wireless speaker package canuse the stored latency status to compute the initial latency. Thevariable latency system described herein can then modify the initiallatency as necessary, to account for the current actual latency. Byusing a per-device learned latency status versus a fixed, one-size fitsall latency value, audio artifacts due to high variation in packetarrival are avoided. Conversely, when variations in packet arrivals arelow, using a per-device learned latency status allows the system toenhance the audio-video synchronization experience.

Elements of figures are shown and described as discrete elements in ablock diagram. These may be implemented as one or more of analogcircuitry or digital circuitry. Alternatively, or additionally, they maybe implemented with one or more microprocessors executing softwareinstructions. The software instructions can include digital signalprocessing instructions. Operations may be performed by analog circuitryor by a microprocessor executing software that performs the equivalentof the analog operation. Signal lines may be implemented as discreteanalog or digital signal lines, as a discrete digital signal line withappropriate signal processing that is able to process separate signals,and/or as elements of a wireless communication system.

When processes are represented or implied in the block diagram, thesteps may be performed by one element or a plurality of elements. Thesteps may be performed together or at different times. The elements thatperform the activities may be physically the same or proximate oneanother, or may be physically separate. One element may perform theactions of more than one block. Audio signals may be encoded or not, andmay be transmitted in either digital or analog form. Conventional audiosignal processing equipment and operations are in some cases omittedfrom the drawing.

Embodiments of the systems and methods described above comprise computercomponents and computer-implemented steps that will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art. For example, it should be understood by one of skillin the art that the computer-implemented steps may be stored ascomputer-executable instructions on a computer-readable medium such as,for example, floppy disks, hard disks, optical disks, Flash ROMS,nonvolatile ROM, and RAM. Furthermore, it should be understood by one ofskill in the art that the computer-executable instructions may beexecuted on a variety of processors such as, for example,microprocessors, digital signal processors, gate arrays, etc. For easeof exposition, not every step or element of the systems and methodsdescribed above is described herein as part of a computer system, butthose skilled in the art will recognize that each step or element mayhave a corresponding computer system or software component. Suchcomputer system and/or software components are therefore enabled bydescribing their corresponding steps or elements (that is, theirfunctionality), and are within the scope of the disclosure.

A number of implementations have been described. Nevertheless, it willbe understood that additional modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the inventive concepts described herein,and, accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of establishing a time period for theplayback of audio data that is wirelessly transmitted from an audiosource to an audio sink that comprises a memory, the method comprising:storing in the memory of the audio sink a distinct value determined forthe audio source based at least on a previous pairing with the audiosource, wherein the stored distinct value can be used by the audio sinkto determine a latency for the playback of audio data by the audio sink;using the stored distinct value to establish a time period over whichaudio data is to be played by the audio sink; and playing audio data onthe audio sink over the established time period.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein the distinct value is based on a time period over which audiodata was sent by the audio source to the audio sink and a time periodover which this same audio data was received by the audio sink.
 3. Themethod of claim 2, wherein the distinct value comprises a ratio of thetime period over which audio data was sent by the audio source to theaudio sink and the time period over which this same audio data wasreceived by the audio sink.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein using thestored distinct value to establish a time period over which audio datais to be played by the audio sink comprises, after the audio source hasbeen disconnected from the audio sink and then reconnected to the audiosink, determining an initial latency for the playback of audio data bythe audio sink based on the stored distinct value.
 5. The method ofclaim 4, wherein the time period over which audio data is to be playedby the audio sink is based on the determined initial latency.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising storing in the memory of the audiosink another distinct value that corresponds to another previouslypaired audio source.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein using the storeddistinct value to establish a time period over which audio data is to beplayed by the audio sink comprises, after the audio source has beendisconnected from the audio sink and then reconnected to the audio sink,determining an initial latency for the playback of audio data by theaudio sink based on the stored distinct value, and subsequentlymodifying the initial latency to account for a current actual latency.8. A wireless speaker package, comprising: an electro-acoustictransducer; a processor; and memory comprising instructions which whenexecuted by the processor cause the wireless speaker package to: store adistinct value determined for the audio source based at least on aprevious pairing with the audio source, wherein the stored distinctvalue can be used by the wireless speaker package to determine a latencyfor the playback by the wireless speaker package of audio data that waswirelessly transmitted to the wireless speaker package; use the storeddistinct value to establish a time period over which audio data is to beplayed by the wireless speaker package; and play audio data over theestablished time period using the electro-acoustic transducer.
 9. Thewireless speaker package of claim 8, wherein the distinct value is basedon a time period over which audio data was sent by the audio source tothe audio sink and a time period over which this same audio data wasreceived by the audio sink.
 10. The wireless speaker package of claim 9,wherein the distinct value comprises a ratio of the time period overwhich audio data was sent by the audio source to the audio sink and thetime period over which this same audio data was received by the audiosink.
 11. The wireless speaker package of claim 10, wherein using thestored distinct value to establish a time period over which audio datais to be played by the audio sink comprises, after the audio source hasbeen disconnected from the audio sink and then reconnected to the audiosink, determining an initial latency for the playback of audio data bythe audio sink based on the stored distinct value.
 12. The wirelessspeaker package of claim 11, wherein the time period over which audiodata is to be played by the audio sink is based on the determinedinitial latency.
 13. The wireless speaker package of claim 8, furthercomprising storing in the memory another distinct value that correspondsto another previously paired audio source.
 14. The wireless speakerpackage of claim 8, wherein using the stored distinct value to establisha time period over which audio data is to be played by the audio sinkcomprises, after the audio source has been disconnected from the audiosink and then reconnected to the audio sink, determining an initiallatency for the playback of audio data by the audio sink based on thestored distinct value, and subsequently modifying the initial latency toaccount for a current actual latency.
 15. A computer program producthaving a non-transitory computer-readable medium including computerprogram logic encoded thereon that, when performed on an audio sink,causes the audio sink to: store a distinct value determined for theaudio source based at least on a previous pairing with the audio source,wherein the stored distinct value can be used by the audio sink todetermine a latency for the playback by the audio sink of audio datathat was wirelessly transmitted from an audio source to the audio sink;use the stored distinct value to establish a time period over whichaudio data is to be played by the audio sink; and play audio data overthe established time period using the electro-acoustic transducer. 16.The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the distinct value isbased on a time period over which audio data was sent by the audiosource to the audio sink and a time period over which this same audiodata was received by the audio sink.
 17. The computer program product ofclaim 16, wherein the distinct value comprises a ratio of the timeperiod over which audio data was sent by the audio source to the audiosink and the time period over which this same audio data was received bythe audio sink.
 18. The computer program product of claim 17, whereinusing the stored distinct value to establish a time period over whichaudio data is to be played by the audio sink comprises, after the audiosource has been disconnected from the audio sink and then reconnected tothe audio sink, determining an initial latency for the playback of audiodata by the audio sink based on the stored distinct value, wherein thetime period over which audio data is to be played by the audio sink isbased on the determined initial latency.
 19. The computer programproduct of claim 15, further comprising storing another distinct valuethat corresponds to another previously paired audio source.
 20. Thecomputer program product of claim 15, wherein using the stored distinctvalue to establish a time period over which audio data is to be playedby the audio sink comprises, after the audio source has beendisconnected from the audio sink and then reconnected to the audio sink,determining an initial latency for the playback of audio data by theaudio sink based on the stored distinct value, and subsequentlymodifying the initial latency to account for a current actual latency.